# S.G. Commonwealth Mixture



## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

Picked up a couple oz of this in a trade. I've been wanting to try it for a while but it wasn't high on the list.

Quite moist right out of the jar. I should have let it dry a bit more than 45 minutes in my pipe but my schedule has it's own demands! It smells like lots of latakia.

It is lots of latakia! This is a no nonsense, no frills english. Apparently 50/50 va/lat. The virginias can be tasted in the background but the latakia is really the big player. This blend is farily one-dimensional. But if you're looking for an english you don't have to think about but can enjoy the latakia without it being too overbearing, this is the one.


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

Thanks for the 411 Dave.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

As always thanks Dave well done!:wink:


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Thanks for the review of Commonwealth Mixture. That is something on my list to try, I'm interested in the 50/50 lat mixture. Still, I wasn't in a huge hurry, quite a few other things were already above it on the list. With your lukewarm review, it is pretty much where it was- I want to try it, but not right now. Maybe if I ever see it on the shelf of a local B&M that will be when I'll pick it up, or as part of a larger online order sometime in the next year.


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

Jeff10236 said:


> Thanks for the review of Commonwealth Mixture. That is something on my list to try, I'm interested in the 50/50 lat mixture. Still, I wasn't in a huge hurry, quite a few other things were already above it on the list. With your lukewarm review, it is pretty much where it was- I want to try it, but not right now. Maybe if I ever see it on the shelf of a local B&M that will be when I'll pick it up, or as part of a larger online order sometime in the next year.


Yeah. That would be my recommendation. It's good and it's high quality tobacco. But just not good enough to push something else down on my list of "to try" tobaccos.


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## dbreazeale (Apr 6, 2008)

That's one I've always wondered about. thanks for the info!


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## szyzk (Nov 27, 2010)

Thanks for the review, Dave! I have 500gs of this jarred up and I just haven't gotten around to smoking - but I did notice that it was very wet coming out of the box.

I'm a latakia lover and it smells incredible. Like you said, I think it's going to be the perfect smoke for me when I have other things going on and I don't want to concentrate on picking out subtle flavors.


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## indigosmoke (Sep 1, 2009)

Nice review David. Sounds like it is a lot like Lancers Slices.


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

szyzk said:


> Thanks for the review, Dave! I have 500gs of this jarred up and I just haven't gotten around to smoking - but I did notice that it was very wet coming out of the box.
> 
> I'm a latakia lover and it smells incredible. Like you said, I think it's going to be the perfect smoke for me when I have other things going on and I don't want to concentrate on picking out subtle flavors.


Hey, now that I think about it, I got this from you! It's been a wild and wooly week!



indigosmoke said:


> Nice review David. Sounds like it is a lot like Lancers Slices.


Come to think of it, I believe you're correct. I haven't retried the Lancer yet but I think I remember it tasting similar. Can't be too sure since I'd had all those other flavors blowing up my palate!


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## szyzk (Nov 27, 2010)

owaindav said:


> Hey, now that I think about it, I got this from you! It's been a wild and wooly week!


Hah! I forgot I sent it to you!


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## Piledriver (Sep 23, 2008)

A good smoke but definitely nothing to write home about. Bought a tin a few months ago and doubt I'll be buying anymore. Dave summed it up pretty well; *This is a no nonsense, no frills english*.


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## Xodar (Mar 4, 2011)

Good review. This has a special place for me as both my first tin and my first english. It was very early in my smoking experience, and I tried it off and on again for about 6 weeks, liking it more each time. Dave summed it up, capital L latakia, gave me a nice point of reference for the softer englishes and orientals I would find later.


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## Celt (Oct 23, 2007)

Im going to chime in here because this is something that just came up for me. I tried this stuff like 3 years ago and really thought it was a good blend but I wasnt blown away by and moved on to other things that I wanted to try. Well I stuck the opened tin in one of my sealed tobacco jars in my cellar and forgot about it. Well about a month ago I found it after forgetting I had it for 3+ years!! It was dried out but not like dust, I guess because it was in that sealed jar. So I decided to smoke a bowl of it to see if it was still any good and I have to say it was by far one of the best bowls I have ever had, no lie!

I am an english smoker and smoke almost mainly flakes now but this bowl was so good next day I ordered 3 lbs of the stuff bulk and jarred it up when I got it to put away for a few years.

the smoke was rich and sweet and had a very strong almost incense quality to it. It was amazing!!

so if you have any open tins of this stuff laying around you might want to let it just keep on aging because man it sings after a couple years.

Happy smoking!


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Celt said:


> Im going to chime in here because this is something that just came up for me. I tried this stuff like 3 years ago and really thought it was a good blend but I wasnt blown away...


... but years later it seemed extraordinary. I had the same experience, and not because it improved greatly with age I would guess. I tried some the other day and decided it was a good thing I didn't try it five or six years ago - I wouldn't have gotten it. This is going to sound a little over the top but, I believe this is a tobacco (which is WELL worth smoking) that benefits from context.

While it's not at all a tongue-burner it isn't the best rookie blend, either. This is one english blend I'm glad I _did not_ try when first starting out; and I am doubly glad I did try it after accumulating a background in how a range of english blends can present themselves in different pipes.

I found Commonwealth fascinating in a way that would have evaded me until I had first understood:

1) a "hit you over the head with a cricket bat" blend (Mississippi Mud)
2) a light, nuanced blend (Squadron Leader)
3) a sweet oriental that needs finessing (Early Morning Pipe/Red Rapparee) and 
4) a marginal latakia punctuated with turkish tobacco (Skiff).

Commonwealth is the place to go to understand the difference between Cyprus and Syrian latakia as discussed at length by GL Pease. The volume of seasoned Cyprus leaf in this blend demonstrates its softness and sweetness with nary a sharp edge.


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